Cyber-Bullies, Obesity and Stress

There was a recent article in The Guardian newspaper that I thought might be of interest to us all, including my own practice, Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic.
Its subject was the new chair of The Royal College of GPs, Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard – in effect the new leader of the UK’s 49,000-plus general practitioners.
Written by Denis Campbell, the article was headlined: ‘Cyber-bullies, obesity and stress… this is a scary world, says the new top GP.’
Dr Stokes-Lampard laments that the proliferation of social media, such as Instagram and Snapchat, has contributed to an explosion of mental-health problems among people with weight issues, including youngsters.
People have become more judgmental about appearance, says the doctor, who adds: “We’re a fat-shaming society.”

Dilemmas of addressing weight-loss matters

She goes on to say that doctors face a huge problem of where to refer patients and, in addition to other measures, she calls for the expansion of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy provision.
Many of the issues raised in the article are of relevance to hypnotherapy treatment. Unintentionally, perhaps, the piece also exposes one of the dilemmas of addressing weight-loss matters. Some would say the dilemma might more accurately be described as a contradiction – on the one hand obesity is recognised as being a dangerous condition that not only threatens the individual but puts a huge strain on health service resources; on the other hand, labelling someone as being fat can have a detrimental effect on their mental well-being and thereby nurture a secondary condition.
Such a contention merits analysis.

Weight-loss treatment at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic

At Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic, I have treated a lot of weight-loss clients as well as treating many people for a variety of other conditions, including low self-esteem. Confidence building, of course, is beneficial to a client’s wellbeing both as a distinct treatment or as part of therapy for some other (often related) condition.
But the supposed contradiction arises in the contention that by labelling someone as being fat, the therapist erodes that client’s self-confidence and thus exacerbates anxiety. Such a notion has seen many therapists and others involved in the wider weight-loss industry avoiding obvious truths – and thereby failing to offer effective treatment.
A fundamental part of treatment offered at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic, and hopefully by all members of the Association of Weight Loss Hypnotherapists, is that a client should recognise and accept his or her condition.
So, fat is fat.
If someone is obese they are obese – not “ well built” or “big boned”.
Honesty is a key to success. But they are not being labelled fat – their weight doesn’t define them it simply needs to be addressed.
Once a client accepts the condition, the very simple physical rules can then be applied – i.e. consume fewer calories than are being expended and weight will be reduced. It is important that the client understands that the therapist is not being judgmental and that together the client and the therapist are going to resolve the issue.
The client needs to be reassured that his or her weight problem is not a permanent state – obesity can be overcome and overcome quite easily.
The problem that Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard highlights is not one of candour among professionals but that social media is making society ever more divisive and exposing vulnerable individuals to wider hostility. Such people need help and not capricious ridicule and that includes people with weight problems. They don’t deserve hectoring – they simply need honesty so as to grasp responsibility. But as Dr Stokes-Lampard points out, stretched resources means help is limited or even lacking.
As hypnotherapists all we can do is help to fill the gap as best we can.
Offered greater opportunities and with wider recognition of the services we provide, I’m in no doubt we could do much more.

Weight Loss Hypnotherapy in Leeds -The Myth of Being Both Fit and Fat

Here at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic our weight loss hypnotherapy programmes emphasise the positive aspects of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight but it is also very important that clients are realistic about the negative consequences of being fat.

Most people, including those who are overweight, are already well enough aware that being slim and active is beneficial to health and one’s overall well-being compared to being fat and sedentary. Fat people don’t need to be constantly told that obesity is not their best option. The problem is that too few people realise that one’s weight is indeed optional. They believe that losing weight is beyond them and all too often prefer to ignore the problem. Weight loss hypnotherapy in Leeds teaches clients that they have a choice and that they can quite easily choose to be slim and we instruct them how to achieve this.

Weight loss hypnotherapists need to be honest with their clients

As a weight loss hypnotherapist I do come across people who prefer to believe it is possible to be both fit and fat. And I turn my attention to this following a report I read in The Daily Telegraph (21/12/15) which cited research by Swedish scientists that has exploded the myth that you can be fat but fit, concluding that obese regular exercisers are more likely to die before thin, unfit people.

The study by Umea University, focusing on 1.3 million men, found that those who were fat but took part in high levels of aerobic fitness were 30 per cent more likely to die prematurely compared to those who were slim but took little regular exercise.

The university’s Professor Peter Nordstrum said that the study challenged the idea that obese people could compensate for their mortality risk by taking a lot of exercise.

Of course, people who believe they are both fit and fat are perhaps unlikely to seek the help of Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic or other weight loss hypnotherapy programmes. So if such statistics as those provided by the Swedish research open a few more eyes to reality then some good might come of it

The door is always open to those wanting to lose weight at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic.

I would also add that whatever the Swedish research might imply about longevity of life, it is my contention that more a more important issue is having one’s health whatever age one happens to be. And, of course, one’s weight remains an undeniable factor in determining one’s health – and is one thing we can all control. With the help of weight loss hypnotherapy in Leeds, you can achieve a healthy weight.

How Hypnotherapy and CBT Principles can make sure you have a happy new year

Binge drinking and overeating are issues much discussed during the festive season and are matters clients often seek advice about at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic.

There are endless articles about boozing and feasting in newspapers and magazines at this time of year, many of them keen to encourage eating and drinking on an epic scale. And the TV is awash with ads urging us to part with cash.

Colossal consumption at Christmas seems to be not just accepted but expected.

And if the employer is picking up the bill for the office party it’s hard for some not to stuff themselves to bursting point and beyond.

How not to fatten up at Christmas

Of course, there are many who worry about the health consequences of too many drinks and too much food. The fear of gaining extra pounds weighs heavily on many a not-so merry mind.

So to counter all this a lot of people promise to punish themselves with total abstinence come the New Year.

Thus the annual fad has emerged of Dry January. People are prepared to drink themselves into oblivion in December and then deny themselves a drop throughout January. Similarly, there are those who will stuff themselves stupid with enough calories to fire up the next space mission and then starve themselves come the New Year until February.

Why binge behaviour is best avoided

It’s classic binge behaviour, which Britain seems to have signed up for with little thought of the wider picture. It is saying that denial of enjoyment is a penance that has to be paid for over-indulgence, as if one cancels out the other.

It’s an all-or-nothing attitude, which is not a healthy way of thinking as any practitioner of cognitive behavioural therapy will tell you.

The retail world encourages this mindset that now pervades society, where the word moderation seems to have been forgotten. So much has become either positive or negative with no in-between.

I read in The Independent newspaper an article on  this matter which featured  London clinical psychologist Lauren Callaghan who employs cognitive behavioural therapy at her practice and I’m happy to quote her advice which is encourage people to think: reduction not refusal; moderation over renunciation.

Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic’s healthy principles

At Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic, clients are encouraged to adopt such principles. Being healthy and happy is grounded in awareness. Mindfulness is a key word. Nothing is banned and the client recognises he or she always has a choice. Be mindful and be in control. And, of course, don’t make January a month to dread.

How CBT and hypnotherapy could solve women’s weight crisis

Obesity is the biggest threat to women’s health in the UK and tackling this epidemic weight problem should be a national priority.

This is the message of England’s Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies, as widely reported in the media last week, including this weighty issue being the main item on many BBC news programmes.

The statistics regarding women’s weight that Dame Sally provides are startling with 56% of women aged between 34 and 44 falling into the obese or overweight categories. The obesity figures are even more alarming for at least one other older age category.

Too fat

The stark conclusion is that as a whole the female population of the U.K. Is just far too fat.

(Britain’s men are overweight in general too – but this fat survey is primarily focused on women’s weight).

The health consequences of this excess weight are worrying both for individuals and for the nation as a whole.

Weight and pregnancy

Dame Sally says that the UK’s weight problems threaten to bankrupt the NHS. Of particular concern is how excess weight affects pregnant women.

The first step is to abandon the still-held belief that mum or mum-to-be is eating for two.

Such misplaced sentiments serve only to encourage obesity.

How hypnotherapy and CBT can help with weight loss

All this might seem harsh and the critics have already been out in force labelling Dame Sally “fattist.”

This, of course, is not true. It is just that sometimes the truth hurts. Amid the protests, the irony is that there is an easy solution to being fat.

I applaud Dame Sally’s recommendation that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective approach in treating overweight women.

It is important for people to realise that the solution to being fat is within everyone. People need to start by recognising this. As with so many issues in life, the lesson is to take personal responsibility. It is a fundamental fact that we at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic help clients realise.

You don’t need faddy diets.

You don’t need expensive gimmicks.

Weight-loss programmes at Leeds Hypnotherapy Clinic include CBT. It is cognitive behavioural therapy that provides rationality with the hypnotherapy being used to anchor this understanding in the client’s subconscious.

Our programmes at Leeds Hypnotherapy are tailored to suit the particular client but we teach that slimming down can be fun and that it certainly it is not an insurmountable difficulty.

It is within your grasp.

It is about being aware and being mindful.